-
Our Favourite Kitchen Tools and Gadgets
Oh kitchen gadgets—how we do love thee. Discovering a device that will make dinner prep go faster or make clean-up less of a chore is fun. Here are the tools our editors and Savvy Staffers love most. From our favourite flipper to the citrus juicer we discovered we all owned to the one gadget our food editor uses every day—they're not all fancy but they all work wonders. Read on to see the gadgets and tools every home cook needs to make life easy.
-
Chef'n Citrus Juicer
This one is truly a staff favourite—more than one (or four) of us swear by it. It absolutely crushes lemons to extract every last drop of juice, and no seeds or pulp make it past the strainer.
-
Onion Keeper
This little guy keeps onion fresh and locks in aroma, so the smell doesn't leach into other produce. Bonus: Knowing our onion is in the same container every time means we can actually find that half onion from the other night in an over-stuffed fridge.
-
Nordic Ware E-Z Deco Icing Pen
Decorating and writing on cookies, cupcakes, and cake with this icing pen is only a million times easier than using a regular piping bag and tip.
-
Norpro Egg Rite Egg Timer
Slip this orange egg into the water at the same time as your real eggs for perfectly cooked eggs every time. The fake egg will tell you when your eggs have reached soft, medium, or hard boiled status by gradually changing colour. Never overcook an egg again!
-
Joseph Joseph Index Advance Chop Boards
Here's a smart way to prevent cross-contamination during food prep and ensure that the veggies never end up on the meat board: colour-coded and tabbed cutting boards. They're dishwasher safe, so sterilization is a non-issue once the meal is done.
-
Flexible Nylon Spatula
This is our absolute, no-substitutions favourite spatula. We've tried knockoffs and we've tried other brands, and none can hold a candle. The ultra thin flexible nylon heads mean they slip right under foods, the handle is easy to hold, and they're dishwasher safe.
-
Capresso Froth Plus
For delicious coffees and lattes, this milk frother is the easiest to clean, quickest to use and quietest operating one we've ever tried. It also makes a mean hot chocolate.
-
Smart Stick Hand Blender
Now that the weather's gotten cool, we're cozying up to our favourite soups and sauces. An immersion blender makes quick and mess-free work of blending up your creations right in the pot, and it's a super easy way to whiz up baby food. Trust us: you won't know how you ever lived without one. Whisk and chopping attachments mean this is no one-trick pony, too.
-
Black & Decker Family Size Griddle
Standing at the stove while everyone else enjoys a leisurely weekend breakfast? Not so savvy. Plunking a griddle down on the table so the chef can sit down, enjoy a (hot!) coffee and relax? That's more like it.
-
Joseph Joseph Elevate Kitchen Spatulas
Chances are your cooking spoons and spatulas are the most used tools in your kitchen, so it's probably time for an upgrade. These Joseph Joseph nylon and silicone tools are heat resistant and have a built-in spoon rest (the weighted handle keeps them anchored) so that the spoon head stays elevated and never touches the counter—meaning less mess to wipe up.
-
Wooden In-Drawer Knife Block
We try really hard to keep our counters clear. It's not always easy, but keeping our knives off the counter is a great first step. For those with baby-proofed kitchens, keeping knives in a drawer is a must, and this will keep things neat and organized.
-
Microplane Zester/Grater
Razor sharp teeth mean that this restaurant-quality grater will make short, swift work of lemons and other citrus, hard cheeses, chocolate and nutmeg, while the soft-grip handle makes it easy to hold.
-
Williams-Sonoma Touchless Tare Glass Scale
A scale is the next step for upping your baking game. It means more precise measurements and accurate amounts. Weighted measurements are also more common outside of Canada, so a scale is a must if you're cooking from that family heirloom book that came from afar.
-
Microplane Box Grater
This all-in-one box grater is our ultimate grater. With five different blades, it perfectly slices through everything from cheese to chocolate, and even makes perfect veggie ribbons. Its box shape and non-skid base means it's totally stable while you grip the handle, so there's no accidental slippage, and the grated food piles neatly inside on top of the removable catch tray.
-
Williams-Sonoma Instant Read Digital Thermometer
Checking the internal temperature of meat is the only way to know for sure that it's safe to consume. Beyond health and safety concerns, it's also the most accurate way to know when your steak is just so. We like this one from Williams-Sonoma, which reads the temp instantly.
-
Kuhn Rikon Peeler
For making quick and easy work of potatoes and veggies, this ergonomic peeler—made for both left or right hands—is our number one pick. Use it on cheese, fruit, veggies and chocolate.
-
Citrus Zester
This is the simplest, easiest way to zest lemons. We find ourselves puling it out again and again and have had ours for years.
-
SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker II
OK, so this isn't technically a kitchen gadget, but we maintain that it's indispensable to dinner prep and clean-up. It connects wirelessly to smartphones, tablets or Bluetooth devices, making impromptu kitchen dance parties easy.
-
Danesco Mini Silicone Egg Ring
If you really like the idea of making fast food-style breakfast sammies at home, but don't like the idea of investing in a sandwich maker, these silicone rings will do the trick and will make those restaurant-perfect round eggs.
-
MagicBullet NutriBullet Pro 900 Series
Our food editor's secret weapon (she says she uses it every day.) Use this to blend up smoothies, salad dressings, and baby food, to turn oats and other grains into flours and to grind flax seeds into powder.
-
Anker Multi-Angle Stand For Phone and Tablet
If you like to use your tablet in the kitchen, whether for reading recipes, listening to music, taking a call or watching a video, you know that a stand is a must to keep the device away from drips and splatters. We love that his one adjusts at the touch of a button to different angles, so you can always read the screen with ease.
-
The Handy House Rubber Jar Opener
It doesn't look like much, but this is our go-to whenever we want to feel like Superwoman...or at least just don't want to admit we can't get that jar open. Unlike other jar openers on the market, this one takes up no drawer space and works on anything.